Premier League champions Manchester City are looking to buld another winning streak, and the first step towards that goal would be to beat Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The two teams have not met since the 2015-2016 season, when Aston Villa managed to hold the Citizens to a goalless draw at Villa Park before losing 4-0 both in the reverse Premier League fixture and in the FA Cup. Overall, Manchester City have won five of the last six direct matches in all competitions. Aston Villa have not won an away match against Manchester City since 2007.
Manchester City are looking to resume normal service, and that would be winning at least a few games in a row. Before the international break they were stunned 2-0 at home by Wolverhampton, their second Premier League defeat of the season, but they have recovered with two wins in three days: 2-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday and 5-1 against Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Leroy Sane, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Rodrigo and Aymeric Laporte are injured for the home side.
Aston Villa have been doing very well lately, they are undefeated in their last four matches in all competitions and have won three of them. Moreover, they have recorded two consecutive Premier League wins against direct rivals in the battle to avoid relegation: 5-1 at Norwich before the international break and 2-1 against Brighton last week. Aston Villa are currently in 12th place in the league table, three points clear of the relegation zone. Jota is the only injury concern for the visitors.
Probable line-ups:
Man City: Ederson - Walker, Stones, Fernandinho, Mendy - De Bruyne, Gundogan, D. Silva - B. Silva, Aguero, Sterling
Aston Villa: Heaton - Guilbert, Engels, Mings, Targett - McGinn, Nakamba, Hourihane - Trezeguet, Wesley, Grealish
My prediction:
Aston Villa are in very good form at the moment, but Manchester City have bounced back from the upset against Wolves and they seem to have resumed normal service, so I predict a 4-1 victory for the Citizens.
Here are the odds for the match at NetBet:
Man City win - 1.08
Draw - 11.75
Aston Villa win - 30.25
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